


Home is wherever I wander.

by DwarvishWarriors



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe, Blacksmith!Thorin - Freeform, Faun!Bilbo, HRBB14, Hunter!Thorin, M/M, deer!bilbo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-05
Updated: 2014-12-05
Packaged: 2018-02-28 06:04:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2721485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DwarvishWarriors/pseuds/DwarvishWarriors
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"They carry around sticks of sharp metal or knives with round edges, they are not like you or me, son. They call themselves, hunters."</p><p>Bilbo finds himself once again in the forests near his homeland, a place familiar to his younger self, he frolics and eats as he usually does on the warm summer days.</p><p>Only to find that on his trails, somewhere hidden in the shadows, lurks a mysterious being. Set on turning the young fauns life upside down.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Home is wherever I wander.

**Author's Note:**

> (Inspired by Non6ix art on tumblr http://non6ix.tumblr.com/post/104398020649/home-is-wherever-i-wander-by go have a look!)
> 
> (Also since this is part of the HRBB14 I'd like to thank all the mods for creating this event, it has been amazing!)

 

 

The soft horn that signalled clearing rumbled through the air and Bilbo peeked outside the frosted window of Bag End to see other fauns and deer families step outside their disguised homes that held place in the rolling hills and grasslands, Bilbo clung to his mothers slim leg as the small family of three stepped towards the emerald and rounded door of their home, as they pulled it open slowly Bilbo practically froze . The world was quiet around them but it was not the usual peaceful quiet of the Shire where the gentle breeze rustled through the hedges of flowers or the rattle of leaves on the large blush trees, the silence was eerie and heavy. Even though Bilbo craved to go out and frolic through the sugary grass and sunlight, he also knew when something was wrong and in the Shire that day something was exceptionally wrong.

Bilbo's father Bungo took the first hesitant steps outside their small home and began looking around, his pointed ears twitching on the sides of his head as it adjusted to the new heavy silence, his darkened nose lifting into the air and sniffing deeply as he looked around, when he turned back to his wife and young son a tense moment later he smiled reassuringly.

"You can come out now, it is quite safe." Bungo said and Bilbo grinned before trotting out of the house far quicker than his mother did and pounced next to his father, nudging the elder fauns hip with the nubs of his growing antlers, an attempt it was to get his elder to play.

Bungo laughed happily and lowered his own large impressive antlers to nudge his younger away from his legs, Bilbo giggled as his father rubbed the white furred spots on his slim back with his much larger horns, the young faun raised his front hooves and tried to bat his fathers horns away as it became too ticklish on his sides. Bungo laughed again as he watched Bilbo bounce on his hooves before he began leaping about and charged towards the gate of their home. However, the young faun was stopped when his father grabbed his fluffy white tail and yanked him back as gently as possible.

"Son, where do you think it is you're going?" Bungo asked, his expression had changed now into one of fierce disapproval and Bilbo sank slightly in himself, his chest tightening under his fathers criticism.

"T- To search for elves in th- the woods." Bilbo stuttered weakly and Belladonna came to her young sons side as Bungo practically seethed with a covered anger that was hidden with years of practice and loving tenderness for his naive son.

"He may go there if he wishes, dear heart, the Watchers say it is all clear, there is no need for him to hide any more, let the child have his fun." Belladonna stated, her hands coming to rest on her childs pale and slim shoulders.

"Bella, he should stay here in the village, not out there away from the other fauns, why can he not play in the Shire as a normal faun would?!" Bungo asked and Bilbo found himself hiding behind his mothers slim furred legs again, her hoof tapping in annoyance.

"I played in those woods when I was young, there is no danger there, there is no need to hide!" The doe added in disagreement and Bungo took his young sons hand and pulled him towards him instead of his mother.

"You know just as well as I Bella that there is need to hide, we-" Bungo stopped mid sentence as he felt a slight tug at his hand, looking down instantly to see his young faun looking up at him, questions and wonder floating through his eyes, just as his mothers did when she found out something new and craved to know more.

"Papa, why do we always hide?" Bilbo asked before he felt the way his father tensed in his own small hand, the buck looked over to the thick veil of trees that surrounded the Shire and narrowed his eyes, letting out a deep sigh as he turned back to his son.

"Because my boy, there are terrible creatures in this world." Bungo stated, his dark curls fluttering in the gentle breeze that had become easier to breath in now they were outside, but to Bilbo the air just seemed to have tightened around his chest.

"Bungo." Belladonna warned but the large buck ignored her warning as he heavily shook his head.

"No Bella, we have kept him unaware for long enough." Bungo stated, trying to reassure mainly himself as he looked down at his young son again, to see his young Bilbo look up at his father with wide and innocent eyes. The buck let his four legs tuck beneath him until he was on the floor, kneeling before his son as he looked him square in the eyes, and spoke. "You see Bilbo, there are dangerous monsters in this world, they do not have antlers, nor tails that flutter in the breeze, nor do they possess the bodies as we do. Many say they bleed green ooze, have sharp fangs, eat raw fish and meat, and have fur that grows from their faces that they can never rid. They carry around sticks of sharp metal or knives with round edges, they are not like you or me, son. They call themselves, hunters."

"Hun- Hunters." Bilbo repeated weakly, imagining the beast in his mind and coming up with a terrifying image, the faun swallowed thickly as the buck nodded stiffly.

"They are ferocious, brutal beasts, they are as unkind and cold as a winters storm and as sneaky as a rising tide." Bungo stated and Bilbo shivered slightly at the thought. "They live far beyond the forest, in mountains far away and in cold little caves, and come every month to gather meat and fur for their children at home to wear upon their stump like bodies. They will skin you and take your hooves faster than you can run."

"My- My hooves?!" Bilbo shrieked looking down at his small trotters and wiggling them, the shiny black surface showing his own tearful expression. "Bu- But papa, why would they do such things?!"

"Because they are savage killers, my boy, and that is why we hide. Hiding keeps us safe." Bungo stated, looking up hesitantly at his wife who was shaking her head sadly, she had always hoped that Bilbo would follow in her hoof steps and travel far beyond the Shire, if you kept your wits about you and never caused any disruption while on the distant paths of the world, Bella knew you could travel for as long as your flaming heart desired, but the flame in Bilbo's young heart Bungo had just extinguished.

"I-I'll never leave the shire again, Papa." Bilbo whimpered as he threw himself into his father's arms and hugged him tightly. "I promise."

Another day began in the Shire then, where all the fauns stepped confidently out of their gardens and started making their way to the market square, the turquoise tents that fluttered in the breeze seeming to contrast greatly with the sugary hills of the shire. Bilbo gave a final look at the forest before his father took his shoulder and shuffled him along, out of the gate, and down towards the marketplace that was now blooming like the bright flowers that grew in the spring.

 

\----Twenty Years Later----

 

Bilbo forgot many a time about his promise to his father, he occasionally dipped into the forest, his search for elves was going so well that he couldn't give up now, but when his father found out Bilbo was sent to his room without dinner, or even supper. Little did his father know, that when he was sent away to his room to think, the little faun would sneak out of his bedroom window and run to the forest where he knew trees of rich red fruit was hanged from trees and he knew all the delicious leaves to eat.

However, all that changed on the most tragic of days, the day of which his parents died. Bilbo was still just a young faun at the time and he had never known quite what to do, only that he now had to care for himself and for the overly large house of Bag End, he would spend hours plodding around his small garden, tending the hedges of bright flowers, sewing seeds into the damp ground, and prepping his crops for harvest. His tomatoes had won best in show six years in the running (much to his Aunt Lobelia's annoyance) and he was hoping for a good stock this year, he spent most of the days trotting around his large house, sitting, reading, writing, or just drinking tea, and the little faun was completely content. However, since he turned the age of twenty Bilbo no longer felt content with his quiet lonely life, nobody checked on him while he was living under the tree of Bag End, only his neighbour Hamfast would talk to him and if Bilbo was not the polite young faun he was he surely would have fallen asleep during those long boring conversations so many years ago.

Every month was the same in the Shire, the warning horn would sound through the air, sending the fauns scattering into their homes, children would run to their mothers, they would close down their stalls, and disguise their homes with grass and wood. Bilbo, on the other hoof, would stay in his house but would peek out of his bedroom window. His curiosity had come to him through his mothers own wondering personality, it was his fathers most complained about points, the young buck couldn't help but wonder what these terrible creatures, that his father had told him about twelve years ago, actually looked like as he had never seen one. In his conversations with Hamfast the bloated buck would also confess that he had not seen one either.

That was how Bilbo arrived here, seven sunsets until his twentieth birthday, he was stepping hoof into the forbidden forest while the other fauns prepared for their day of eating and pipe smoking, Bilbo shouldered his pack higher on his arm as he would be gathering some of the delicious fruits from the forest today. How his father would react if he could see him now.

Bilbo raised his dark nose in the air and took in the rich scent of the trees and dirt around him, finally feeling like he was back where he belonged, the forest's thick trees seemed so much smaller now as when he was a child they seemed to be as tall as the mountains described in his mother's books, and the fruits that grew from a small bundle of trees seemed unpicked and ripe. The young buck trotted slowly over the flat lands and reached into the tree, pulling the soft looking fruits with a slight twist, using his small penknife to peel away the skin before sinking his teeth into the tender flesh of the plump fruit, juice pouring over his slim hands instantly. Bilbo hummed in satisfaction at the tingle on his tongue from the juice before dropping the peel to the floor as reached up for another fruit and twisted it. Unknowing of the sharp blue eyes currently watching him from the safety of a nearby wall of shrubbery.

\----

Thorin watched the small deer creature eat happily, his plump lips covered in red juices and his fingertips being sucked happily in his mouth as he ate. The dwarf gazed at the trail of juice leaking from the corner of the deer's mouth before looking at his pointed ear that flapped occasionally in silent happiness, Thorin then trailed his eyes down the creatures shoulders that was peppered gently in freckles that matched the ones the covered the creatures plump cheeks, in the centre of his chest laid a patch of fur that was just as dense as the fur that covered his deer body, the back that dipped in the middle was as a true deer would, and the tail at the end of his slim body wiggled as freely as his the leaves of the tree did, the dwarf couldn't help but smile at the beauty of it all.

He violently shook his head to clear his mind before slowly pulling a long arrow from the quiver that was strapped around his back, just one shot, that's all it would take, when the creature stretched to grab the next bulb of fruit Thorin would fire his arrow and strike him right in the heart, causing him no pain and a quick death. He only needed the creatures pelt anyway, it would be a quick kill and then quick pay, he had killed before, he's killed in his lifetime more than his fair share of large birds, cattle, wolves, wargs, and orcs.

This is what Thorin's mind told himself, but his heart sang a different song, he knew of the Shire creatures, how their hooves and antlers could make him a pretty profit at the markets for their beauty and their pelts just as much, but this was a peculiar job, this creature had a body of a man, therefore making Thorin carry the blood of a half man on his hands for the rest of his life, it didn't help that this deer creature was a beautiful site, fur swept and dare he say fluffy, the curls atop his head looking like a halo around his antlers from the sun that lit them, and fair eyes, the lightest blue as if the gods had gathered the ripples of the summer skies into a bottle and poured it into his eyes.

The hunter pushed all these emotion deep within his core and placed his flinted arrow into the bow, he sucked in a quick breath, and raised the loaded bow from his chest, the string groaning in strain as he pulled it to his cheek and aimed for the creature, but as if the gods were tormenting Thorin the small creature moved to the other side of the tree to gather more fruits, hiding himself from Thorin's view.

The hunter lowered his bow before slowly getting to his feet, the deer still not noticing him yet as his boots treaded softly against the shifting earth as he got behind the deer, watching the small creature freeze before his ears began twitching as Thorin anchored the string of his bow and scowled in concentration.

The creature spun on his hooves, his eyes wide in fear as he saw Thorin, the hunter pulled the string back further past his ear, the small creature then began to shake violently and tears began to trickle from the creatures eyes, this made everything far more complicated. When killing a beast like animal they could never show fear or pain, they could not cry nor could they whimper for their lives. This creature was crying, almost sobbing, as his features crumpled. His beautiful face shirking in sadness, his mouth opening slightly as he tried to beg for freedom but now words tumbled out and his eyes began turning red and filled with a waterfall of tears.

Mahal above, those eyes truly were the sky, they became cold and grey when the creature cried his hurtful tears, just as the clouds would when it rained.

Thorin lowered his loaded bow and the creature continued to look at the hunter, his pale, tearful eyes piercing into Thorin's own sharp ones, as he took a hesitant step back.

"I-I'm sorry," Thorin grumbled and the deer creature tilted his head, the cream coloured antlers atop his head hitting a low branch above them as he did. "I didn't mean t-to frighten you."

The deer quickly used his slim hands to wipe his damp eyes before gazing at the hunter again who's arrow and was still low, placed mainly by the side of his clothed hip, but it was still there and Bilbo still felt fear thrum through him.

_"Ar- Are you a hunter?"_ The deer asked in his mind, he dared not to speak to the hunter as his nerves were everywhere and yet nowhere at all for him to conjure up the courage to speak. The hunter just watched him and nodded his head weakly.

"Are you well?"

_"Are you- you going to take my hooves and my antlers?!"_ Bilbo wondered frantically, this must have been portrayed in his eyes as the hunter furrowed his brow and stepped closer to him, causing the deer to step back.

"You're not well? Are you hungry? I suppose you're wondering what I am doing here, I- I was... looking for someone..." Thorin lied before a lie came to his mind, and idea that hatched so quickly that Thorin could see not a single flaw, a plan that would allow him to receive his price but keep the creature alive, as he had not the heart to kill him. "I was looking for someone to share in an adventure."

The deer creature gazed at him, his head straightening instantly as he stood to full height and smiled slightly, a moment of confusion passing before his eyes.

_"An adventure?"_ The young buck questioned in his own mind, still not speaking to the hunter and only tilting his head in question and his ears perking as if asking for the man to continue.

"I hate to travel by myself, you see, and I am looking for someone to join me on my journey." Thorin lied but the mastered look of honesty on his face was enough to keep the being with him for long enough.

Bilbo again did not speak only watched the man as he spoke, he still unsure of the hunter before him, but his father had said that hunters were brutal slaughterers who killed without a word, but this man kept speaking to him.

"I am going to a little town far away, they call it Dale," The hunter said now before pointing to the mountains that Bilbo could see in the distance. "Beyond the misty mountains, around the forest of Mirkwood and across a far stretching river, the town of silks and metal, Dale is the jewel of the east."

_"It sounds beautiful."_ Bilbo whispered subconsciously, trying to imagine the adventure, over pointed mountain tops, down winding paths of dense forests and across rivers so deep, the hunter looked back at him and smiled gently as if to reassure Bilbo.

"It truly is a wonder to behold, I work there in the forges and create weapons and jewels for all those who live there." Thorin sighed as he looked into the distance, but he was not thinking of all those stuck up beings in the town of Dale and those who did not appreciate his work in the forges, he thought of his family, though he could not tell that to the deer of course. "I would be honoured if you would join me."

Bilbo looked at the hunter suspiciously, he wanted to know the raven haired man's name but again no words came to him, but the man must have known as that is what Bilbo would ask of him as he turned back to the small being and bowed slightly, making the faun step away from him again.

"Thorin Oakenshield, at your service." The man said as he extended his hand to the small being and Bilbo leaned forward to sniff it curiously but the man yanked his palm away slightly and asked what he was doing, when Bilbo signed that he was going to sniff it in greeting as was tradition in the shire to meet one another and get a true judgement on them, but the man shook his head.

The hunter then extended his calloused hand again and clasped it around Bilbo's limp and pale hand. After which he gave the conjoined hands to clear and firm tugs, up then down, then up then down.

“This is how we greet each other.” Thorin stated as he continued the movement, the deer creature looked at their joined hands in wonder.

What a strange custom! Bilbo stated to himself before he copied the movement, but he continued it far longer than Thorin did, when the hunter began to feel awkward at the feeling of the deers petite hand in his he quickly pulled his hand away, coughed awkwardly, and requested Bilbo to follow him. He turned to pull his bow and only looked back to see the deer examining the hand Thorin had shook a few moments ago, the hunter raised a brow at the small being but he didn’t question him, only grunted a command to follow, and the deer hesitated for a moment before looking at the pathway that lead back to the Shire and back to the safe haven of his home, but he straightened his back bravely and followed the hunter without argument. Knowing he now had a chance to see the world beyond his mothers books and maps, and he wouldn’t let the chance fade away.

\----

Bilbo was amazed, these men (or dwarves as Thorin had told him) would travel by carts pulled by horses, on wooden wheels that spun like those on Bilbo's red wheelbarrow back home, they had no need for their legs as much as Bilbo did, but it was still incredible and Bilbo couldn't help but gaze with wide eyes at everything they passed. The dwarf watched the deer from the corner of his eye in amusement as the small creature laid himself halfway over the back seats, his furry white tail wiggling in excitement, whacking Thorin in the face occasionally with it, as he rummaged through the bags in the back of the cart.

"Excuse me, could- could you sit down please?" Thorin asked and the deer creature looked at him with a slight pout, and Thorin couldn't help but laugh as one of his worn woolen grey socks had caught around one of the deer boys antlers, the hunter reached up to pluck the sock from the curved horn but the small buck pulled back, a harsh look of warning on his face even though his cheeks heated up with embarrassment.

When Thorin explained, with a few gestures and simply words he quickly reached up and snagged the sock, the young bucks blush deepening in the embarrassment of it all. The hunter only chuckled kindly before tossing his sock gently into the back of the cart once again, before holding the horses reins in both hands once again and flicking them gently, the little deer taking the seat next to him once again and occupying himself with a small figurine of wood, looking similar to the dwarf at his side.

"So, little deer, do you have a name? Or do all those of your kind not speak?" Thorin questioned and Bilbo sniffed the figurine as he shook his head, his curls rattling with the shake.

"No? No, you do not have a name? Or no, those of your kind do talk but you just do not?" Thorin questioned now and Bilbo nodded, the dwarf made a slight grimace to himself knowing this conversation would be on hold for a while until the little deer felt more comfortable around him. He had heard from other hunters that Shire folk do talk, just not around strangers or people they were nervous around, and if they did not that meant another deer was nearby to chase the invader away. Even then all they did was just eat, dance, sleep, smoke pipes, and chewed wooden toys... chewed wooden toys?

"No, no, you do not chew!" Thorin shouted as he swiped the spit covered toy from between the deer creatures rounded teeth, the creature looking at him with a frown of confusion. "This is not food, this is my nephews favourite toy!"

The deer was silent now, well more silent than usual, and was looking in the opposite direction as Thorin rubbed the drool from the tiny wooden face of the dwarf warrior, he had promised Kili to take General Grioin with him on all his journeys to keep his Uncle safe, that was years ago and his nephew would probably not remember saying such things but Thorin did as if it was yesterday.

The dwarf looked at the deer creature now who was still potently not looking at him, Thorin found he missed it greatly, not having the soft blue gaze on him was making him itch all over and a heavy weight of guilt settle on his middle.

"I'm sorry I- I did not mean to shout." Thorin stated and the deer looked over at him hesitantly, only to look away again quickly. "I do not have what you may call a... good temper. Sorry."

Bilbo looked at him now, a small smile across his rounded features, showing Thorin that he was now forgiven. The dwarf returned the smile marginally before turning his attention once again on the horses.

He needed to stay above all this, he needed to keep himself distance, the creature was his prey, the creature was his token to more money for his young nephews and sister who desperately needed it as her looming trade was getting her nowhere. This was just another hunting trip, just another mindless animal he needed to take to the boss.

The words melted into Thorin's mind for hours until he felt something kick the outside of his thigh, he looked down instantly and all the words that had melted into his mind seemed to drizzle right out at the sight at his side, the little deer was curled up in a tiny ball, his back left leg twitching and kicking occasionally as he mumbled in his sleep. Thorin wondered briefly how long the deer had been asleep before looking up to the sky and seeing between the layers of dark velvet the bright moon in the highest place in the sky. He pulled the cart over to the side of the pebbled path before he removed the tack from the horses and feeding them, the horses fell instantly into a deep sleep after finishing their feeds, Thorin placed his mat on the floor besides the cart, but not before (though he would deny it on a later date) placing a thick woven blanket over the deers slim body.

\----

They stopped in the town of Bree early that morning, Bilbo hiding under the woven blankets in the back as Thorin had instructed, the dwarf knew if the men of Bree noticed he had a faun in the back of his cart they would arrest him instantly for poaching laws and release Bilbo back into the forest, so when Thorin knocked on the gate and waited for a guard to arrive he helped the silent buck into the back of the cart, hiding him under a pile of bags and blankets and telling him to stay silent, which would definitely not be a problem for the deer.

"Who goes there?!" A harsh voice called and Thorin jumped back into the front of the cart.

"I am a dwarf merchant." Thorin replied as a tall man opened the gate and narrowed his eyes at him suspiciously. "On my way to Dale to trade my fine silks and jewels."

"Why do you need passage into Bree, dwarf stranger?" The man hissed and Thorin scowled at him.

"I am in need of supplies, food, water, and tools for the road." Thorin stated and the man hummed and looked him over again before he slammed the gate, from underneath the blankets Bilbo could hear the clicking of locks and a crank being turned, he could feel the cart jolt forward and a new smell hit him in a way that made his nose twitch.

Curiosity took over Bilbo again as it did when he was a young faun and he slowly raised the blanket over his eyes so he could look at the small town- Bree, the man at the gate had said- and his bewildered blue eyes widened impossibly, the town was much grubbier than the Shire, but the rugged charm appealed to the deer greatly.

"Stay down." Thorin whispered at him, Bilbo felt a heavy hand settle on his head and was pushed down as carefully as possible, but Bilbo get his gaze roaming the town as they passed a little tavern called the Prancing Pony.

Bilbo had read about that place in his mothers book, a tavern, she had called it which to him was a place that supplied an intoxicating drink, he watched as men stumbled out of the doors looking as though they were made without bones and just from hay and cloth with the way they wobbled in the breeze.

They passed other stalls that smelled much better this time, it surrounded Bilbo's nose with the scent of doughy foods and sweet spices, the deer slid a hand out from under the blanket and tugged roughly at Thorin's tunic, gaining the dwarfs attention as the small deer pointed potently at the stall.

"Hungry are we?" Thorin asked rhetorically but that went straight over the fauns head as he nodded quickly, causing the blanket to slip slightly over his antlers.

Bilbo felt the cart stop suddenly, which sent him sliding forward at the abruptness, before a weight lifted from the front of the cart and Bilbo knew Thorin was gone, he heard the sound of pebbles scrunch under heavy boots as his travel companion walked toward the nearby stall, his rumbling voice returning to the cart before his body did as he ordered some unknown food for the deer, Bilbo felt the weight return to the front of the cart and the wheels began turning again.

Many agonising minutes later the blanket was pushed carefully from over Bilbo's antlers and the deer blinked rapidly to adjust his eyes to the new brighter light that fast fading into a pale orange.

"You can come out now, little deer." Thorin stated with a reassuring smile and Bilbo grinned before scrambling out of the blankets and wiggling his hooves as he stretched. "Are you well this night?"

Bilbo nodded briefly before the scent was there again and Bilbo's dark nose twitched as he leapt into his seat in the car and grabbed the lofty bag of buns and other delicious smelling pastries.

Bilbo's hand shuffled into the cotton bag instantly, pulling himself out a cream drizzled pastry and shoving it between his lips, the sugary flavour hitting his tongue instantly, Thorin smiled slightly before shaking his head and flipping the reins of the horses.

"Now, you're going to have to make those last, we have a long journey ahead of us and I do not know when we will be eating next, so be sure-"

Thorin heard something slip onto the floor beside him and he looked down to see the now empty cotton bag. His eyes shot wide as he placed the reins into the hold, lifted the bag and yanking it open, sure enough the bag was empty other than some pitiful crumbs at the bottom, Thorin looked up at the deer who had a large smile of content on his face as he rubbed his full belly.

"How- How did you eat them all so quickly?" Thorin asked the deer sat by him, who was currently dabbing the corners of his mouth with a pale handkerchief, that reminded Thorin a lot of his own handkerchief, before the deer looked at the dwarf and blushed brightly before giving him an innocent shrug. The dwarf huffed in annoyance and threw the bag down before taking the reins again, he couldn't wait for this 'adventure' to be over and it couldn't come soon enough.

Later that night, Thorin sat beneath a large oak tree, watching the endless sea of darkness around them that was being defended by the small fire crackling in the middle of the camp, his long sword was by his side just incase they encountered any predators. His stomach grumbled loudly and he rubbed it in an attempt to sooth the pain, but it was to little effect.

The deer was settled close to the fire, under three blankets and Thorin's cloak, as the dwarf had learnt that the deer boy was far too affected by the cold.

Thorin assumed he was asleep by now but he wasn't sure and he didn't really care, he hoped all those pastries the deer scoffed gave him a terrible belly ache in the morning, serves the greedy creature right.

The dwarf heard shuffling coming from the opposite side of the camp and closed his eyes quickly before leaning heavier against the tree, feigning sleep. He heard soft hoof steps across the camp before they came to a quiet halt, he heard the faint sound of sniffing before feeling a light weight on his thigh. When he opened his eyes the deer was back on the other side of the camp and settling under his blankets once more.

Thorin looked down at his thigh and couldn't help the small twitch of a smile settling on his lips, on his thigh was now a handkerchief placed under a small round bun covered in glossy white icing and a plump cherry on top. He smiled slightly before gathering the pastry and taking a bite, humming in satisfaction as the sugary dough filled his growling stomach.

\----

Thorin huffed as he woke, he could hear the scraping of something on wood and winched his eyes open painfully to see the deer rubbing his horns against the wood on a nearby tree, the rough bark peeling off in thin strips.

"What are you doing?" Thorin questioned, making the deer creature freeze remove his horns from the tree and flush bashfully as he reached up to eat the bark, Thorin jumped to his feet and marched toward him, snatching the rough bit of tree from the deers hands. "No, we don't eat the bark!"

The small creature looked him up and down before taking a branch and chewing on the leaves, Thorin snatched it from his hands and tossed it away, this time the creatures frowned at him in annoyance.

"We don't eat leaves either." Thorin stated and the deer tilted his head, only then to Thorin hear a gurgle that seemed to be coming from his captures belly. "Oh, you're hungry. Is that it? Are you hungry?"

Bilbo nodded vigorously before Thorin huffed and began walking towards the cart, hearing the sound of four tentative hooves following him as he did.

"You must be starving after all those pastries you ate last night." Thorin teased and Bilbo blushed brightly before kicking a stone gently with his hooves.

"I'll have to make us something then, won't I?" Thorin stated now as he pulled a pack filled with food from out of his cart and Bilbo froze.

His father had warned him about the savages long ago, saying that they ate raw meat and fish while they still had beating hearts, back in Bag End the faun had a pantry stuffed full of all the treats of the Shire. Oat Balls, Honey, Tea, Fruits and Vegetables, Sugar Leaves, and the best Mushrooms on the east side of East farthing, that he even collected himself might he add. He didn't want to eat raw helpless fishes or the beating heart from a young cow, he didn't want to become a savage!

Bilbo turned his nose up and closed his eyes as a bowl of food was offered before him, he didn't even want to smell the rancid, raw, disgusting... grain? and honey? They weren't bad smelling at all. Bilbo looked down to see the bowl full of warm steaming grain with honey drizzled on top.

"It's probably not what you were expecting, I'm an awful cook." Thorin stated with an awkward laugh and Bilbo looked at him with wide eyes for a long moment.

Certainly not what he was expecting, what happened to the flopping live fish or the raw stinking meat, the small deer took the bowl and the wooden spoon that was being handed to him before the words slipped out.

"Thank you."

Thorin sat opposite him with wide eyes and a small smile on his face, straightening the permanent frown lines on his face, causing Bilbo to smile as he was slightly pleased at the sight before him, he didn't like the lines that marred the hunters face, not at all.

"You finally spoke." Thorin said in surprise and Bilbo nodded. "What is your name?"

"I-I'm Bilbo Baggins." The deer said and Thorin nodded, taking the words in and remembering them as he repeated.

"Bilbo Baggins, I could get used to that." Thorin clinked their bowls together then, which Bilbo found was a rather strange custom before they both ate in silence the wind rustling through the trees and the grass being the only sound between them.

\----

By the gods, Thorin wished he hadn't made the deer so comfortable, because, as he had learnt in the following days, once the deer started talking now there was no stopping the hours of annoying questions Thorin would have to answer, some had very simple answers some did not but the dwarf tried as best he could to answer anything the small deer asked him.

"Where do you come from?"

"Do you have a family?"

"What's your favourite food?"

"Why do you smell like metal?"

“A harp? Why do you have a harp? Can you play?”

"What's this? A sock? Where you you put it?"

"What do you mean they are not for antlers?!"

"How old are your nephews?"

"So, why are they called trousers?"

"What is that on your face?"

"What?" Thorin asked, looking down at his own face. "Do you mean my beard?"

"Is that what you call it?" Bilbo asked with a tilted head, and Thorin focused back on the trail before him with a nod. "What does it do?"

"What do you mean 'what does it do?'. It doesn't do anything." Thorin replied looking at Bilbo with a confused frown, thinking that perhaps the beings antlers were screwed on just a little too tightly.

"Then why do you have one?" Bilbo asked. "My Papa said it just grows on forever and ever and you can never do anything about it, like my antlers you see."

"Well, I can trim it, it's not alive or anything, it's just a tradition." Thorin stated and Bilbo furrowed his brow, his father had told him that the 'beards' had a mind of their own, like they were living beasts on the face of another large living beast, but it was nothing, just hair grown on the face to honour the dwarf traditions. How much more had his father been wrong about?

Thorin looked over at the faun who was deep in thought before turning to his own minds thoughts, he knew he should not be talking to his catch, nor should had he asked for his name, his father had told him if he ever got a pet to not name it because giving something names automatically sent affection from the heart to scramble the mind, and Thorin's mind was scrambled just by looking at Bilbo. He could not deny that Bilbo was beautiful because he certainly was, his golden curls up close now looked as if they were woven with gold and his pale body was desirable to even the harshest of men as it was not slim, nor was it muscled, it was plumper in the middle due to years of good eating and it was delectably curvy on his hips, it was wonderful, something Thorin had never seen on any being before, Bilbo was just plump in all the right places. His deer body was not bad either. The deer side of him was soft and furry, his tail fluffy and white, even his antlers were curvy like his human body. But his ears. His ears were glorious, curved and twitchy whenever he heard a sound and pointed at the tip, like an elf but far more pleasant. It was hateful. It was all Bilbo. And it was driving Thorin completely mad.

Thorin pulled over the cart on the pebble road and helped Bilbo unload for the night, both of them setting up their beds on opposite sides of the fire, Thorin's being made from soft cotton whereas Bilbo's would made from shrubs, leaves, and twigs. When Thorin had asked if he wanted a cotton made bed Bilbo had waved a hand in dismissal, saying he used to sleep all the time in leaves as a child and it was comfier than anything offered to him.

They ate dinner in light conversation before they climbed into their cots, Bilbo falling asleep much faster than Thorin's as the dwarves mind continued to spin with thoughts of the deer laying across from him, but eventually he settled into his sleep.

\----

The dwarf woke up early that next morning when he felt something pulling at his lips, his eyes snapped open instantly to see Bilbo leaning over him with the rising light of the sun behind him, his golden curls tousled by twigs and leaves and glowing in the bright light, that was not the most surprising moment as Thorin was used to seeing it, what was surprising were that the deer had his fingers inside his mouth and his smooth fingertips were running over Thorin's teeth.

"Bi'bo. Wha' ar' you doin'?" Thorin asked, finding it difficult to speak with the fingers stretching his mouth open, and if he was honest finding the whole situation more than a little bit awkward.

"I'm looking for your fangs." Bilbo replied like it was the most obvious explanation in the world and Thorin frowned deeply.

"I don' av' fan's." Thorin hissed and Bilbo shrugged slightly.

"Well, I didn't know, so I needed to check." Bilbo replied, adjusting his head so he could see deeper inside Thorin's mouth. "I don't see any right now, how do I know you're not hiding them?"

Thorin grabbed hold of the deer's wrists and pulled the hands from his mouth, sitting up so quickly that he almost collided with the startled deer.

"Bilbo, I am going to give you a few rules, no putting your fingers in my mouth, ever again, especially when I am asleep. You will wait for me to wake before asking my about my non existent fangs. And you will never, ever, wake me up this early again." Thorin listed and Bilbo nodded in agreement, the dwarf knew he would not be able to get back to sleep so he got to his feet and stretched before ordering Bilbo to pack the supplies, the deer trotted off instantly to complete his tasks.

\----

Bilbo, Thorin had come to realise, was a very strange creature indeed. They had been travelling for five days now and he had to admits that he had grown rather attached to his little faun friend, he liked all the little quirky things he did and liked. He liked sunlight, more than anything in this world and he made Thorin pull the cart over every afternoon so they could watch the sunset together and woke early to watch the sunrise. He liked music, especially when Thorin would play his harp as they sat up and night, this would also inspire the deer to get up and twirl. He liked dancing, even though his hooves usually wiggled ungracefully as he pranced around the fire. He liked watching fish swim in the water but he did not like water when it fell from the sky, he scolded Thorin when he caught a fish and ranted at him until he let it go back into the water to join his 'fish family' once again. He liked bathing, and he didn't mind bathing right in front of Thorin, the dwarf had no arguments of course, he kind of enjoyed watching the deer creature bath. It was a wondrous sight, the bubbles dripping from Bilbo's curls onto his humans back and then slipping down into the fur around his hips that linked together human and deer, his tail wiggled quickly when it got water or soap on it and Thorin just watched, pretending to sleep against a tree with a pipe in his mouth.

Another thing Thorin liked about his faun was the way he sniffed Thorin when he believed the dwarf was not awake and curled at his side when he finished his gentle sniffing, Thorin gave himself a one sided smile and looked down at the slumbering faun before returning to his own state of drowsiness.

The dwarf also liked it when the the faun would grab his food while they rested at lunch and sat beside Thorin as if it was a habit, and the hunter would rest his hand across the deers back and rub the beige fur gently with his thumb, Bilbo had jumped when he first did it and explained that certain places on a deer were very sensitive areas, such as the antlers. Thorin had apologised at first but as Bilbo had gotten used to it he did not jump any more, and as they grew closer, Thorin couldn't help but feel his heart tug at every touch. He needed to confess to Bilbo that this was all a ruse, this was all for Thorin to get money for his family, he was given the job of poaching a faun for fifteen gold coins, which didn't sound like much but between a family of four it was more than enough to get everything Fili and Kili needed. The dwarf was torn, he needed that money, but he needed Bilbo in his life too, because he had never had a friend like the little faun before.

\----

One evening, while the pair sat and spoke in soft tones, Thorin couldn’t help but notice the storm that was forming above, he also couldn’t help but notice the way the small faun was wincing in fear and shrinking under the cloak that Thorin had placed over his shoulders no less than an hour before sunset. The dwarf smiled slightly at the petrified faun in hope of comforting him and when it didn’t work he turned to his pack set beside him, the large dwarf scratched his beard in concentration as he rummaged through the pack until he found just what he was looking for.

A small harp with ten tight strings and a wooden frame embellished in golden runes.

“How about I play you a song, little deer?” Thorin asked with a genuinely kind smile. “It might settle your nerves.”

The small deer nodded quickly before pasting himself to Thorin’s side, finding instant comfort in the embrace. Thorin felt a faint blush rise to his cheeks but he willed it away as he cleared his throat and pulled his harp closer, plucking at the strings leisurely as he went.

Bilbo looked up at the dwarf as he played and he could honestly say he had never been so comfortable in another's presence before. Well, other than his parents of course. It was something about this dwarf, this hunter, that made Bilbo finally feel like he was living, like all those years he spent alone was in wait for Thorin to walk into his life. Back in the shire nobody paid much attention to him nor did they play strange pieces of wood with strings inside, they did nothing of the sort as it would be considered strange and a queer hobby indeed. Besides, most were either far too busy filling their own stomachs or thinking of filling their own stomachs with the next delicious meal. While Bilbo did admit he did miss the large dinners while he was out on this grand adventure, he would also confess that this had been the best in his short life and the dwarf was the best creature he had the good fortune of meeting, be he a hunter or not.

Thorin’s finger trickled on the last few notes of his solemn song, before he allowed the final string to hold the last tingling note. When he looked down at the faun expectantly all Bilbo could do was smile sweetly, trace his fingers over the strings (that were strangely much softer to touch than he expected) with a slight hum, and gaze piercingly into Thorin’s eyes.

“Will you play me another?” Bilbo whispered and Thorin smiled softly at him before starting a second soft tune on the small wooden frame. Bilbo was lost in thought once again.

However, the thoughts of the small faun were interrupted by a soft humming noise coming from the dwarf at his side of lyrics he had heard before. Lyrics his mother would sing to him as he slept. The deer looked up at the dwarf, his doe eyes wide and unclear as his heart began to thunder against his chest, the sky rumbled its own song above them. The words of the soft tune began to swell inside him and before he even knew it, Bilbo began to sing.

“Roads go ever ever on,

Over rock and under tree,

By caves where never sun has shone-”

Thorin’s deeper voice interrupted the smaller, giving the smaller an opportunity to gather his thoughts as he ended the verse.

“By streams that never find the sea.”

The pair gazed at each other now in a mutual understanding until Bilbo looked away, a feverish blush over his cheeks and a small smile on his lips.

“You know that song?” The faun asked after a long pause and the dwarf nodded slightly.

“Aye… And I see you do as well.” Thorin replied before placing his harp at the side and Bilbo nodded slightly as his hooves shuffled together with nerves.

“Yes, I do. My-My mother used to sing to me.” Bilbo replied and Thorin snorted.

“And what lies did she tell you about the outside world?” Thorin teased, but when he saw the smaller beings face fell into an annoyed frown he knew he had made a mistake. “I mean…. You spoke of your father… and I thought-”

“My mother was a loving woman.” Bilbo stated with a harsh glare. “She encouraged me to fulfill everything I wanted to do in my life and she never told me scary tales of distant lands, only my father did that. She travelled whenever she could to far towns, even while she was pregnant with me, she would never turn away from an adventure.”

“She sounds like a remarkable woman.” Thorin said truthfully and Bilbo smiled sadly before looking away and holding his fingers together, looking down at them as he did in hope that they would provide him an answer.

“Yes… She was.”

Thorin felt like kicking himself.

  
“Oh Bilbo, I’m sorry, I didn’t-”

“It’s quite alright, you weren’t to know.” Bilbo replied with a small smile, the moment of silence between them was tense and neither looked at each other as the air around them settled heavily in their throats. Thorin was the one to speak first with an awkward clearance of his throat.

“My mother died when I was young, too.” Thorin stated and the faun looked up at him with a furrowed brow. “And my father… my younger brother as well, when I was much older. But my mother, she was the most beautiful dwarrow in all the lands, even though she was a simple loomer in the town of Dale, just as her mother before her and her grandfather before that-”

Thorin paused and looked down at the faun who was smiling gently and nodding for the larger being to continue, the dwarf smiled slightly behind his beard before continuing.

“My father, would sneak out of his home and meet her, every second moon. They met at a bridge in the centre of the town and would exchange tokens of their affections and braid on anothers beards under the moonlight. My mother assured me it was all quite romantic.” Bilbo sighed dreamily before Thorin continued. “Their love was forbidden though, as my mother was to marry some rich lord in the iron hills who had heard of her beauty and talent at the loom. However, early one cold september morn my father met her at their bridge, proposed, and they fled before either of their parents had even woken from their slumbers to protest-”

“I can imagine it was quite the scandal.” Bilbo gasped with a wide smile and Thorin nodded in reply.

“Aye, it was.” Thorin said with a fond smile. “And after they had us three.”

“Three?”

“Me, my brother, Frerin, and my sister, Dis.”

“You have a sister?!”

“Aye? She is the younger of us all.”

“I always wished for a little sister.”

Thorin snorted a quick laugh before complaining.

“I don’t know why. They are vicious little things, younger sisters, I remember once when I was still young, Dis would go into the main room of our home, take the rug of fur and hide in the bushes while she waited for me and Frerin to return from weapons practice. She would wait for hours and just as we walked past she would jump out, making an awful snarling sound, and no word of a lie, me and Frerin would scream like newborn piglets every time.”

Bilbo grabbed his sides as he doubled over in laughter, his tail fluttering happily as he cackled. Thorin chuckled to himself at the memory and rubbed the fauns furred back as he did.

“I believe that now my nephews, who are her sons, have grown up that is why they are so reckless in their actions. It is all down on her, I swear.”

“You-You have nephews?” Bilbo asked now, his laughter falling from his lips in an instance.

“Aye.”

“What are they like?”

“Well, as I said. Reckless, stubborn, promiscuous, inflexible, impulsive.” Thorin listed, though there were no heat to his words and a fond smile on his lips. “They are a lot like my sister.”

“Strange, because they sound a lot like you.” Bilbo said softly and the dwarf looked at him with a gaping mouth which he opened and closed regularly, his brain failing him for words. Which continued until the small deer reached up and placed his index finger to the dwarfs lips with a fond smile. “Oh hush, I like it, I like the way you are.”

Thorin smiled gently from behind the finger placed to his lips, he was going to leap forward, take the little deer into his arms and ravage him in loving kisses, he was going to. Right now, right n-

The sound of thunder began to rumble through the sky again before a flash of lightning crackled past.  Causing the pair to quickly separate. Thorin rummaged through his bag before finding what he was looking for, he quickly casted his tent up and threw in his supplies before he looked back at the small faun, who was now spinning softly in a pile of leaves before slowly down, his back toward the tent that the dwarf had set up and his shoulders set in a tired position.

The dwarf sighed deeply before pulling down the drapes that made the door of his tent, before he sat himself down on the cot in the middle of the rounded room. He sighed again with the final weary air in his lungs as he placed his head in his hands and flopped back onto the cot.

\----

Thorin laid in his tent, his mid swirling like the storm above him in the dark sky, he was running out of time, he had only one month to hand the 'deer carcass' over to the hunters in Dale to receive his gold but he seemed to keep getting sidetracked, especially when Bilbo was tugging him through the forests to inspect the flowers there or when he was tugged on top of small waterfalls and told to jump as the deer did, he couldn't help himself from wanting to please Bilbo and he would follow the little deer to the heavens and back if he asked him to.

The dwarf shook his head violently and settled onto his pillow with a loud huff, he needed to stop this madness, this was strictly business, he needed to keep it as such and not be persuade into any more foolishness, he would have to ignore Bilbo's wide, innocent, blue eyes and the way his hair curled even more after he had been in the river and the way he bit his lip when he was nervous and the way he wrapped himself up in a cocoon of blankets when he slept, covering everything from antler to hoof, he would just ignore it all... he had to.

\----

Bilbo rested uneasily under his mound of blankets, the storm above him making the clouds growl and hiss as if the gods were muttering in argument, his short tail fluttered nervously as he watched the swirling sky, wondering briefly if he should have purchased a tent like Thorin had in a town in the mountains because the dwarf seemed to be sleeping soundly if the loud snores coming from the flaps of the tent were anything to go by, but no he was a stubborn faun (it ran in his mothers side of the family) and had said he would be fine. A sharp crackle of lightning split the sky right above Bilbo and the deer squeaked as the thunder boomed after it, the deer then felt pellets of rain begin to pour over him and he quickly gathered up his blankets before running toward the tent opposite him, slipping on the churning mud as he did.

"Thorin." Bilbo squeaked as he gently pulled open the folds of the tent. "Thorin, can I sleep in here with you?"

The only reply was a loud snore and another growl of thunder as another strand of light ripped open the dark sky to reveal more rain, Bilbo squeaked again and dove next to Thorin, the dwarf waking up instantly with a heave as Bilbo's front hoof collided with the dwarfs chest.

"Bilbo?!" Thorin barked, obviously displeased with being woken up so late, he lit a lantern next to him with a match and held it up to look at Bilbo, the deer wincing slightly at the flickering brightness. "What are you doing in here?"

"I-I don't like storms. Can I stay in here with you, Thorin?" Bilbo said with a pleading look, pressing his palm to Thorin's warm chest as he did. "Please, just for one night."

Thorin groaned slightly and rubbed a hand over his face before peeking through his fingers to see the little deer looking at him so sweetly, Thorin knew then that the gods were just intentionally screwing with him, the dwarf sighed before nodding and removing his hand from his face.

"Alright, just one night." Thorin stated and Bilbo beamed now before placing his head under Thorin's chin and nuzzled him upwards, almost taking the dwarfs eyes out with his antlers as he did. Thorin found however that he did not mind.

They laid down together then and Bilbo practically curled up on the dwarfs chest, again Thorin didn't mind one bit, and the deer pulled the stack of blankets over them, the dwarf felt him twitch when the occasional rumble of thunder pierced the thick leather of the tent but Thorin hushed him gently, his hand betraying him and moving to pet the deers golden curls.

"Thorin," Bilbo whispered and the dwarf hummed as he was too tired to talk and couldn't trust his voice to say anything. "My mother wrote that Mirkwood has some of the most beautiful fireflies in the whole world. She wrote that they are born from the walking stick of an old wizard and that they soar through the sky and then burst into tiny specks of starlight, I want to see them, can we go see the fireflies, Thorin?"

Thorin furrowed his brow for a moment, the fireflies he had seen on his travels were not as Bilbo described, they were sturdy little creatures that buzzed through dark bushes at night and lit themselves to see, not what Bilbo was saying at all. Fireflies, Thorin thought with a small frown, fireflies born from a wizard... Of course!

The memory came to Thorin then, the wandering wizard dressed in Grey would regularly come to Dale to release fireworks into the sky, mostly to entertain all the young children and many of the adults, Bilbo must have them muddled, but who was he to correct the small being.

"No, we can't go see the fireflies, Bilbo." Thorin grumbled and he could clearly make out the deers pout through the dark of night.

"Please." Bilbo whimpered and Thorin sighed again, if Dis could see him now she would laugh. He was absolutely whipped, wrapped around the tiny beings little finger.

"Alright, we'll see them, but only for a moment, no longer." Thorin whispered and he could feel Bilbo's smile against his chest before the deer nuzzled down again.

They both fell asleep eventually, Bilbo drifting off first and having dreams of fireflies all around him, Thorin had the same dream but it didn't have him in it, just the little deer, the little deer surrounded by starlight that tinted gold, his curls dancing as he twisted between the blobs of golden light, pulling Thorin with him, and they danced, Thorin didn't dance obviously but the deer did, the deer was beautiful. They held both their hands together and spun through fields of shimmering light and intricately formed flowers, the deer smiled brightly in a way that made Thorin feel like all was well with the world. The dwarf pulled the little deer close and pressed their chests together as they continued to dance in a gentle sway.

Mahal truly was screwing with him.

\----

They rode across the green lush land, stopping again on occasion when Bilbo saw some flowers he wanted to pick, most of which ended up in the shape of a crown on Thorin's head, the dwarf refused to wear it at first saying it was ridiculous and un-dwarf like, but when the deer started to get a wobbly lip and look on the verge of tears Thorin snatched the crown out of his hand and placed it atop his head, taking some warmth from the large smile that arrived on the deer creatures face as he did.

They arrived on the edge of Mirkwood by nightfall, Bilbo had pleaded to go see the fireflies but Thorin had put his foot down and said he would not venture through the woods tonight as he was tired and they needed to regather some food supplies, the dwarf did not get suckered into the wobbly lip this time and it must have aggravated the deer creature slightly as Thorin pulled the cart up on a large plot of land, and took care of the horses before turning to the deer who was still pouting.

"Now, don't get like that, help me set up the tent." Thorin stated as he lifted the rolled leather pelts from out of the back of the cart and began running the thick rods of wood through them, Bilbo gave up eventually with a sigh and helped the dwarf set up his tent. They ate together in silence before Thorin wished Bilbo goodnight and disappeared into his tent, leaving Bilbo under his supply of blankets.

Just like the night before Bilbo moved into the dwarfs tent when the weather outside became too frightening and curled up next to him, but this time it was more difficult as the dwarf was awake and reading maps in the dim light.

"I thought I said that it was only for the one night." Thorin said, not even looking up from the maps as Bilbo entered his tent, his curls and blankets already soaked from the harsh rain.

"I-I know, but Thorin, it's so cold out there." Bilbo pouted and Thorin sighed before nodding for him and acknowledging he could stay inside with him, the deer smiled and dumped his sopping blankets to the side of the tent, his four legs kneeling at Thorin's side as he did.

"What are you reading?" Bilbo asked, noticing the flower crown he made earlier was still gracing the top of the raven haired dwarfs head.

"Maps, we will need to navigate our way around Mirkwood, a horrible illness lies upon that forest and I will not be foolish enough to enter." Thorin explained and Bilbo hummed, he knew the deer was not truly listening as he was busy fiddling with Thorin's compass that was placed on the folded out table.

"Are we still going to see the fireflies?" Bilbo asked, Thorin rolled his eyes as if the deer had just listened he would know that they would not be passing through Mirkwood so they would not be seeing the fireflies, Thorin told him all this and the deer looked at him sadly.

"Bu- But you promised." Bilbo whined and Thorin huffed, folding up the maps as he did.

"I promised no such thing." Thorin stated.

"Yes you did, last night you said you would take me." Bilbo replied, a frown melting onto his face and Thorin sighed again.

"Alright, I'll see if we can find them, but I can't promise anything." Thorin stated with a finality that Bilbo knew he would not need to make another case of why he wanted to go so he laid back on Thorin's bed with a huff, his antlers hitting the soft pillow as he did, and unknowing of the dwarf currently gazing at him longingly.

"Thorin," Bilbo said in a whisper and the dwarf hummed, not taking his eyes off the lounging faun. "Have I ever told you that this is the most wondrous journey I've ever been on?"

Thorin smiled slight and turned to look at a piece of blank paper on his short table.

"Is it really? And how many adventures have you been on?" Thorin asked now and the faun was quiet for a moment before replying.

"This is my first," Bilbo replied honestly and Thorin's heart melted slightly as he thought about the reply in a rather inappropriate context but then he looked back at the faun who was smiling at him expectantly. "But, we'll go on many more, won't we?"

"Bilbo-"

"Because I like this, I like being far away from home and out of the routine I have been stuck in all my life, I like being away from that ghastly cow Lobelia, I like seeing new things, I like being here..." Bilbo said before he paused for a moment and looked away from the dwarf bashfully. "I like being here, with you."

Thorin thought his heart was going to blow from his chest with how fast it was beating in his ribcage, he sighed and ran a hand through his hair, pulling the flower crown with it, before crawling up next to Bilbo and pulling him close, placing their foreheads together as he did.

"I like being with you too, Bilbo." Thorin confessed and he felt the deer sigh in relief as it ruffled the front folds of the dwarfs shirt and the dwarf closed his eyes, not wanting to see the despair on the deers face as he said the next words. "But, I can't take you on another adventure."

"And why not?" Bilbo asked as he placed his hands on his hips and frowned, Thorin knew Bilbo wanted to sound angry, but it sounded more like a whimper and the dwarf groaned.

"Because, I'll have to take you home eventually, then I'll return to my own family." Thorin replied uneasily.

"But I don't want to go home, I want to stay with you!" Bilbo protested and Thorin cupped his jaw reassuringly, rubbing his thumb over the deers hairless cheek as he did, hushing the deer gently.

"You can stay with me, for as long as you want, but you-"

"Alright then. How about forever?"

"I'm sorry?"

"I said, forever. You said I could stay with you for as long as I want and I want us to travel and be like this forever..." Bilbo stated before his tough exterior melted away and was replaced with a vulnerable sigh as he placed his forehead onto Thorin's collar bones and sniffed him gently. "Please don't send me away, Thorin. I don’t want to be alone anymore."

Thorin's heart twisted at the sadness behind those words he knew the sad world Bilbo came from, they had spoken of the deers parents who died so suddenly when he was young, and how he had been handed over to different, strange relatives, until he was finally placed back into Bag End when he reached maturity. The dwarf closed his eyes as he tried to block out everything in his head and just listen to his heart, and his heart was screaming at him to keep this little deer close and to never let him go, he didn't want to let Bilbo go, he never wanted to let him go, but he had to. He had no choice. He could run away and go on adventures with Bilbo and say goodbye to all his problems and let his family starve or he could let go of the only being he had ever truly loved and keep his family fed and happy. Thorin was so confused and he couldn't help but blurt out.

"Forever." Thorin replied, the word escaping in a gasp. "Forever is fine with me."

Bilbo smiled against his chest and rubbed his cheek against the hair that poked out of the gaps between the laces of Thorin's shirt and he sighed, happy to hear the dwarves heartbeat against his pointed ear and everything was silent again, both being comfortable in the silence though the tension around them burned for something to be said that was placed on the tips of both their lips, but it was not said.

"Thorin, have you ever seen the snow?" Bilbo asked now after many silent minutes and Thorin hummed.

"Aye, I have."

"What's it like?" Bilbo questioned as he fiddled with the strings on the front of the dwarfs shirt and Thorin looked at him with a furrowed brow.

"Have you never seen it?" The dwarf asked in reply and Bilbo shook his head. "Well, It is cold and sometimes wet, but when it is falling it is quite beautiful, it is delicate but when it comes together it is strong."

"Do you think I'll ever see some?" Bilbo whispered and Thorin nodded his head.

"You will see snow Bilbo, I promise."

They both fell asleep a few moments later, at the same time and Thorin for once was not left awake by the stirring of his heart and the arguing of his mind, that could wait until the morning but for now he felt warm and happy, and it made his stomach churn thinking that all this was not to last.

\----

Thorin found out the next day that his extravagant friend liked to sing. Loudly. And undoubtedly off key but when Thorin joined in with his shy monotone voice the squeaking of the deer seemed to sooth a bit, they weren't in harmony, not by a long way, but they were comfortable and Thorin's ears didn't bleed outwardly so the deer creature stayed happy and loud.

It wasn't until however that they rounded the borders of Mirkwood did Thorin feel uneasy, he looked to his left into the dense forest cover that seemed to swirl in thick colours of green and purple, toxic air luring them closer, he then looked to his right to see the deer humming happily and beyond him a large mountain range that seemed far darker and covered with shadow as the setting sun behind the rocky peaks shed it's last light of day, but that is not what made Thorin feel at unease, it was something else, something lingering far away, something a lot like the feeling he was being watched.

"So, the cat and the fiddle played hey-diddle-diddle,

A jig that would wake the dead,

He squeaked and he sawed and he quick-"

"Bilbo, get in the back of the cart." Thorin ordered as he hopped out of the cart, brandishing his sword as he did, and the small being looked at him worriedly before doing as the dwarf had ordered and climbed into the back of the cart, hiding under his blankets immediately .

"Thorin," Bilbo whispered at the dwarf who lifted the lit lantern from the cart into the darkening air and waved it slowly, the deer threw his hand out of the cart and grabbed Thorin's own calloused one as the dwarf paced around the cart. "Thorin, what's going on?"

"Nothing, everything is alright." Thorin lied as he rubbed his thumb over the deer creatures knuckles soothingly, he held his sword tightly in his other hand and then he saw it. Fierce glinting eyes lit up by the lanterns candle light and drooling fangs appearing from the darkness.

"Stay down, Bilbo." Thorin hissed before releasing the deer's hand, placing the lantern back on the cart, and charging at the growling creatures, a Warg pack, there were at least seven of them but Thorin was not afraid of that, he was afraid of the creatures the large wolf beasts belonged to. Orcs.

The dwarf growled and barked roughly at the Wargs as he swung his sharpened sword at them, hoping to frighten them away, some flinched at the display other's stood and continued to growl.

Then it all happened at once, a Warg on Thorin's left pounced at the dwarf and knocked him over instantly, the dwarf could only hear the Wargs sneering growl and the deer's startled shriek before he plunged his sword into the Wargs neck, blood covering him instantly as he pushed the Wargs twitching body to the side, then the attack truly began. Thorin sliced two approaching Wargs down without a problem, growling and cursing at the others as they charged at him, Bilbo squeaked in terror at every bit that came a little too close to Thorin's chest or the large clawed paw that would swipe at the dwarfs head, a few trims of hair coming off every time.

Another Warg charged behind Thorin as he was battling two others, Bilbo screamed as the dwarf was struck down by the three, there fang heavy jaws and claws digging into the dwarves instantly.

"You stop that this instant, you- you great big bullies!" Bilbo shouted as he jumped up from his hiding space in the cart, the remaining Wargs noticed him instantly and began their charge, Thorin called for him to run but the deer stood tall, his hooves kicking at him as he picked up the lantern and the leather tent, smashing the two together the thick leather caught light instantly and he threw it at the Wargs, hitting one of the great beasts in the snout.

The Wargs stopped instantly as their comrade yelped in shock before running away from the burning lump of leather, the ones that were chewing Thorin released him instantly and ran with their pack, and just as it was a few moments ago it was silent, only the horses agitated steps sounding the night.

Thorin picked himself off the floor and brushed the dirt and blood that covered his tunic and armour, wincing at the way his sore and blooded arms stung as he moved them before he looked at Bilbo who was still standing up in the cart with a proud smile on his face and his hands folded on his hips like some sort of night in the novels Dis used to read to her young boys, but Thorin was far from impressed at the display.

"I told you to stay down!" Thorin braked as he inspected the scorched tent that had burnt out a few seconds after the Wargs had dispersed. "And my tent is ruined! What in Mahals name do you think you were doing Bilbo? You could have gotten yourself killed!"

"And if I did nothing I would have seen you killed by those overgrown terrors!" Bilbo protested and Thorin glared at him fiercely, as he threw his ruined tent down on the floor with a final thud, the dwarf dusted the shards of broken glass from the lantern off the dirt road and grabbed his sword, pointing it at the deer when he did.

"Get in the front of the cart now, I do not want to hear another word out of you!" Thorin barked and Bilbo huffed before climbing into the front of the cart, mumbling under his breath about the stubbornness of dwarves, Thorin found that he liked the quiet deer at the beginning of the journey much more than this Bilbo who was speaking his mind.

He would come to regret those words later that evening.

Thorin didn't want to sound horrid, he truly didn't, but the deer had frightened him as much as the Wargs did, if not more. It was as if he forgot he was part dinner for the Wargs, for them he was just something to chew on and take to their masters. Thorin was nothing and Bilbo was everything, everything Thorin wanted and wanted to be, how could he think Thorin's life more precious than his own? Why had he risked his own beautiful soul for a mangled soul of a lying dwarf such as himself? Why did the deer deem him so high up in his views? Thorin wanted answers but at the same time decided he did not want to speak to the small being in fear that if he said something so stupidly endearing as he always did Thorin would have no choice but to kiss him and never let him from his side.

"We need to find a cave for the night, keep your eyes open." Thorin said tensely as he sat in the front of the cart again, but the deer did not speak, only placed his arms huffily over his chest, the dwarf grimaced before gently flipping the reins and willing the horses to go, he was in for one long night.

It wasn't long until they (well Thorin more so as Bilbo was still not talking) found a cave and Thorin had checked himself for any creature lurking inside, when he found nothing inside other than a few rather large cobwebs he called to Bilbo to unpack the cart, but when he peeked outside he saw that the deer had already done so and was sitting on the edge of the ledge that surrounded the cave, arms still crossed and ears twitching in annoyance. Thorin sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck, a nervous habit he had picked up long ago.

"Bilbo, I'm about to get the fire started, is there anything you want to eat?" Thorin tried as he had discovered on this journey if that if there was one thing that the deer loved more than anything it was food, but the deer still sat unmoved, his ears pausing for a moment before continuing to twitch again. Thorin sighed once more.

The dwarf than prepared dinner for himself and the stubborn deer, how dare people say that dwarves were the stubbornest sods on earth when clearly it was those darn Shirelings making all the fuss over nothing, the dinner was awful to say the least and Thorin notched that down as the deer not hovering over him every moment telling him what to add and what not to add, Thorin slurped a bit of the heavy stew and spat it out a moment later, this caught the attention of the deer for at least a moment before he snapped his head back to look at the bleak surroundings.

Thorin then decided it was best for him to suck up his pride and approach the deer, if he was to receive a hoof to the side of the head so be it. He lifted himself from the hard ground with a grunt deciding it was best to spoon some of the disgusting stew into a bowl for the deer as a peace offering, though with the taste it held it would most likely start another war.

"Bilbo, I made dinner." Thorin said as he approached. "It's not much and it taste likes dishwater but it should give you some strength."

Bilbo turned his head unsurely as the bowl was placed at his side, giving it a tentative sniff before retching and shoving it away, Thorin groaned slightly and picked up the bowl before placing himself next to the deer.

"Come on Bilbo, when I said I didn't want to hear a word from you, I didn't mean for the rest of the night!" Thorin cried exasperated but the deer still looked potently anywhere but at Thorin.

"What do I have to do to make it up to you?" Thorin asked and Bilbo huffed, which was a start in the dwarfs book, followed by a shrug which added an extra page.

"I don't know," Bilbo sighed, still looking away from Thorin. "A thanks would be nice for saving you and not a scolding like I received."

"Thank you, Bilbo Baggins of the Shire for saving my life I am forever in your debt and forever at your service." Thorin said with a mocked bow and Bilbo laughed, and there was the dwarfs final chapter.

"Don't tease Thorin, not when I'm being serious."

"I was being serious too."

"No you weren't."

"No you're right, I wasn't."

Bilbo laughed gently into the back of his hand again before looking at Thorin, forgiveness so clear in his clear crystal eyes that the dwarf could not bring himself to look away, so he didn't.

The silence around them however was interrupted when a shrill whistle ran through the air and they were drawn to a distant source of light shooting into the air over a nearby town, bursting into tiny speckles of white light as it hit the night sky, covering the world in a shimmering dust and Bilbo gasped at the sight.

"Fireflies." The faun breathed as another one of the little creatures flew into the air again and split into tiny spots of starlight, his with widened in amazement as he looked at the sight, watching another fly into the air, this time splitting into three separate groups of fireflies and glowing all different colours that reminded Bilbo of home, yellow, green, and red flecks of starlight, the deer was so enchanted by the light of the flies that he did not notice beside him the dwarf watching him with a small smile on his lips and a small gleam in his eyes that was not caused by the shimmering light disrupting the dark sky.

Thorin watched with a deep sigh the small being next to him, even in the alternating light of the distant fireworks Bilbo still looked simply beautiful, his clear eyes wide and innocent as he watched the lights in wonder and his darkened nose twitching occasionally as if he tried to smell the sparkling powder from so far away, Thorin wanted to close his eyes and treasure this moment forever, to keep the picture of the little deer engraved in his mind forever but he just couldn't look away and close his eyes, he felt as if he did he would wake up in his bed in Dale and all of this would have been some magical dream because there was no way the being at his side was real, he couldn't be.

"Aren't they beautiful?" Bilbo asked in a whisper, his eyes still trained on the fizzling sky light and Thorin hummed as he took the small beings hand in his like they had done briefly in the cart earlier, but this time he interlocked their fingers tightly and squeezed.

"Aye... beautiful." Thorin breathed and the faun looked at their intertwined hands before up at Thorin, realising then that the dwarf was certainly not talking about the fireflies, he blushed brightly and looked away.

The faun felt a soothing hand creep over his jaw and tug his head upward again so he could look Thorin in the eye and he sighed deeply, many of times had his mother talked about how she had met his father, how the feelings that stirred within her chest and her mind would be enough to dry anyone completely round the bend, how his father had been oblivious to the does advances to begin with, and how their future had all been sealed one pleasant summers afternoon with a single kiss.

Thorin leaned down slightly and the deer leaned up, they met in the middle, their lips tingling with the exchanging of their hot breath so close to one another's before Bilbo took the plunge, grabbed the dwarfs shoulders, and sealed their lips together.

Thorin moaned as Bilbo's lips consumed him, they were soft and pleasant, tasting faintly of wild berries that they had picked together a few days ago, the dwarf trailed his hands down the small beings back, resting just above where the deer fur sat on his body, the dwarf opened his eyes briefly in the twist of lips to see if this was all still real and he chuckled when he saw Bilbo's fluffy white tail flutter happily from side to side before closing his eyes once again, to focus on giving Bilbo the best kiss of his life so no other would ever compare. Thorin seemed to realise what he was doing a few seconds later and pulled back sharply, toppling over the side of the ledge as he did and landing with a hefty thud on the floor the other side of the stone platform.

"Oh goodness, Thorin!" Bilbo shrieked before Thorin could see the little deer look over the edge, eyes wide with concern. "Are you quite alright?"

"Aye, I'm fine, I- I just... saw a spider! A very large spider..." Thorin said with a weak smile and Bilbo giggled, a small smile on his lips joining the pleasant sound, and as much as Thorin wanted to climb back up the side of the ledge and join the faun again, he just couldn't. He wouldn't let himself fall any more foolishly for the deliciously beautiful deer. So, he decided instead to pick himself up, brush himself over, and lie again. "I-I should go on watch now...an- and you should be getting some rest."

Bilbo's smile dropped slightly when he said it and Thorin's heart ached, he couldn't do this any more, he had to tell the truth, he had to-

"Bilbo!" He shouted as the deer made to stand, it caught the creatures attention and he looked over the side of the ledge, his head tilted in question and Thorin swallowed thickly, he could do this. "I-I.. Have...um..." He couldn't do this. "Have a nice sleep."

"Likewise." Bilbo said with a soft nod before moving away, Thorin waited until the gentle hoofsteps were far away before he let out a deep sigh and kicked the rock at his foot, sending the pebble tumbling away.

\----

The next day was even worse, he woke up to the sound of something sizzling and looked up to see Bilbo sat outside of the cave with something smoking in the pan, a rather thick slab of meat was what the charred remains in the pan were. Bilbo said he had wanted to surprise Thorin with a breakfast, and no matter how hard Thorin tried to stay angry at the deer it faded instantly when a pout began to form on the creatures lips.

When Thorin had finally broke under the creatures pawing and pouting and said he wasn't angry, Bilbo finally smiled, his fluffy tail wagging, as he lunged forward. Grabbing the dwarfs face and placing lovingly licks to Thorin's beard and peppering kisses to the dwarfs lips as he did. Thorin didn't mind of course.

Later that day when they had finally strolled over the rolling hills and babbling brooks they reached the flowing river that would lead them to Laketown, where Thorin was expected to make the 'delivery' to the men of the town. Bilbo was bouncing excitedly when he stepped onto the boat Thorin had placed there a month before and settled down instantly as they hit the water.

The deer trotted around the boat constantly, making Thorin slightly dizzy as he watched him, the deer began lifting up everything on the boat, asking Thorin what it was and what it did, he didn't mind answering the continuous questions as it was Bilbo asking them, anyone else and he would have told them to sit down and shut up.

"Thorin, what's that?" Bilbo asked, his shot plump finger pointing into the distance, and Thorin looked, his heart sinking even lower.

The mountain in the distance looked even bigger than it did when he had left all those weeks ago, it was still covered in a ashy mist but you could easily make out the general shape of the single peak.

"That is the home of all dwarves, Erebor." Thorin explained and Bilbo looked confused.

"I thought Dale was your home?" He asked and Thorin nodded slightly.

"It is, but I lived there once before, until a dragon came and seized it as his hoard, now it is his home." Thorin explained bitterly and Bilbo hummed but thought it wise not to continue the conversation.

"Where are we now?" Bilbo asked as they passed stone arches that practically touched the clouds above and loomed over them, Thorin wanted to just turn around, he wanted to keep the deer tell the men in Laketown to go stuff their money some place very dark and never return. The boat kept drifting straight.

"Laketown."

Bilbo looked at the deserted town on the lake with wide eyes, it was misty like the mountain and it smelled twice as bad, even more so with the rotting fish everywhere.

"I don't like it here." Bilbo stated, his nose wrinkling in disgust.

Me neither, Thorin said to himself but the gate opened in front of them and the dwarf had no time to do or say anything else as the deer was yanked of the boat with a frightened yelp, the dwarf's heart sank a final time and snapped in two.

\----

It all happened so quickly, Bilbo had been pulled of the boat as soon as they passed the gates and Thorin stopped the boat just as quickly. He hopped off just after, never removing his eyes from the floor as he was patted on the back by one of the leading men in the group. While he was  forced to watch Bilbo struggle against the men who were at least twice the deers size.

"Aye, a beauty he is." One man said as he looked over the deer with one eye, the other horribly scarred, before he petted Bilbo's deer body. "A pretty penny he'll fetch."

"Unhand me you brutes!" Bilbo shrieked, his hooves kicking wildly, but they were grabbed and chained instantly.

"Thorin, I was wondering when you were going to show." A man walked down the steps to the gate keeps now and patted him on the back. "A fine hide you have brought, but a little fresher than we agreed to."

Thorin didn't say anything only stretched his hand open at the stick like man and he heard an annoyed sigh, most likely at his impatience, before he felt cold weights of metal land in the centre of his palm. The dwarf looked in his palm only to see five golden coins glinting back at him, he frowned darkly.

"It's short. I was promised fifteen." Thorin growled and the man in front of him scoffed around the thick pipe in his mouth, his skinny fingers coming up to rub his wrinkled face.

"Aye, fifteen if it was here in a month." The man replied with an eye roll and Thorin glowered at him.

"I did get it here in a month."

"A month including the day you left, and ten coins off every day you did not deliver. Was that not clear?" The man stated like it was simple, his eyes sharply cutting Thorin down. "You're a day late, dwarf."

"You tricked me." Thorin hissed before he heard a familiar terrified squeak and he looked over to see Bilbo being lead toward a large iron cage, his wrists bound together and furred ankles chained together, the men around him poking him with blunt swords when he didn't step toward the cage, Bilbo shuffled toward the cage but he used his head to jostle his horns at the swords, the fear on his face was enough to make the dwarf want to cry. Thorin ran forward but was stopped by a spindly hand to his chest.

"What are you doing?!" Thorin barked, trying to push past the hands that grabbed him. "You said you would treat him well!"

"I am treating him well. As well as the little beast deserves." The man said and his henchmen beside him chortled but they went silent as Thorin growled at them.

"Thorin, don't let them take me!" Bilbo shouted as he ran at the dwarf, attempting to jump into his arms but was snagged by the ropes that bound his wrists to the heavy man behind him, he struggled against them and Thorin looked straight ahead at the man in front of him. "Tell them this is all just a big mistake."

"The big mistake, little one, is that you trusted him." The pipe smoking man said before he laughed at the attempted scowl Bilbo directed at him. "Look at him now, paid for your capture and leaving you with us."

The fauns scowl faded and was replaced by a look of confusion as he turned to the dwarf, whose head was lowered to look at the planking around them.

"Thorin, what is he saying?" Bilbo asked and Thorin looked away, he didn't want to look the deer in the eye, he didn't want to see the betrayal in those beautiful blue eyes. "Thorin, look at me!"

Thorin looked at him then and breathed deeply.

"Bilbo, please I tried to tell you, I did, It's just-"

"Come on, enough of the niceties!" Another man barked before he began tugging Bilbo away again but the deer held his place, tears now rolling freely down his cheeks before he shouted.

"Thorin!"

"Alright! I'm sorry!" Thorin shouted, finally looking up from the floor and at the faun. "I am so sorry, Bilbo. My family. I needed to help my family."

"I thought I was your family." Bilbo whimpered, a new set of tears prickling his eyes. "You promised me forever!"

"I-I-"

Thorin's voice was gone then, all possible words slipping from his mind and he forced himself to look away again, as finally Bilbo was pulled away with a sharp tug toward the cage attached to the back of the mens cart.

"I hate you Thorin Oakenshield, I curse the day I met you!" Bilbo shouted as he was shoved into the cage, he didn't mean it of course. He would gladly swap his whole life for just one more day with the dwarf, but it was too late.

Thorin tried to march forward again as the cart began to pull away, but the thin hand stopped him again and a dark mist of pipe smoke blew in front of his face.

"Don't follow us." The man hissed before shouldering a pack he had to his side and following the moving cart, a promise of pain in his eyes as he went.

Thorin stood alone on the wooden dock, all the light suddenly seeming to fade from the world and as if Mahal had directed him he reached into the pocket of his trousers and pulled out a strand of wilting flowers, still tied together tightly but all the petals had died and Thorin sharply drew a fist around it, before looking at his other palm where the coins were still place.

The dwarf let out a mighty yell before throwing the gold tainted handful forward, watching as all five coins splashed into the dark water and sank. Thorin stowed the flowers back into his pocket, ignoring the dried leaves and petals falling off as he did, before jumping into his boat and grabbing his pack. He had some hunting to do.

\----

The men of Laketown were lazy folk, so Thorin didn't have to travel far before he found them again. Five of them all settled around a bursting fire and cackling drunkenly as they ate, toasting their successful hunt. Thorin was used to darkness of the forges his sister worked in and he instantly noticed cold glinting steel hidden awfully by a set of trees and hedges.

The dwarf quickly evaluated the site before ducking back into the hedges and began walking slowly toward the cage and his deer.

\----

Bilbo wiped his drying tears from his cheeks before he began digging a nail at the metallic screw on one of the bars around him. He missed the shire, he missed his freedom, but more than that, he missed his Thorin.

In the corner beside him sat a metal plate of food, he had sniffed it and tried a tiny mouthful earlier that night but spat it out again when he discovered it tasted foul, he hadn't touched it since.

Everything reminded him of the dwarf, the squeaking wheel of the cart sounded like the one on Thorin's ear, as did the horses, but Thorin's were much nicer and twice as beautiful. The fire in the distance that delivered him some warmth reminded him of Thorin's own warm embrace, the scratchy texture of the blanket he was sat on reminded him of the dwarfs scruffy beard and he missed it. He missed rubbing his face in the beings beard and listening to him chuckle, he missed trying to fall asleep without Thorin's heavy heart beat under his ear. Even though Thorin had betrayed him and brought him all this way to sell, he still loved the dwarf with all his heart. And he wished he had told the being as such.

The memories jostled Bilbo into tears again and he placed his head in his hands as he wept.

"Little deer?" A rough voice said through the thick air of the night and Bilbo looked up to see a mirage of the dwarf pressed against the cage bars. "Are you well this night?"

"Oh, go away, you silly mirage." Bilbo said as he looked back down and shook his head but the image didn't go away.

"Bilbo, it's me." The dwarf said again and Bilbo slowly got up from his seat, sniffing nervously as he approached before weaving a hand through the bars and pressing it to the dwarfs solid chest, his eyes widening as he felt the familiar heartbeat.

"Thorin!" He squeaked even though the dwarf tried to silent him. "What are you doing here? Have you come to get me? Are you hurt? Where are the guards? Do you still like me? I'm sorry about what I said, I was angry, and afraid, but I'm not afraid any more-"

"Bilbo, hush, now is not the time to talk." Thorin whispered as he pressed his finger Bilbo's lips and the small deer nodded his head in understanding, finally silent.

"What's going on back there?" A gruff voice shouted and Thorin seemed to disappear into the darkness again, causing Bilbo to squeak in panic before a large human appeared through the trees. "You there, creature, was that you making that noise?"

"Yes, yes!" Bilbo squeaked, settling back down onto the blanket in the corner. "Whe- When I get lonely, I sing, I was just singing you see, you can't blame me for that can you? and besides my mother always said that they best way to calm ones nerves is to indulge in a little bit of singing, do you sing? I just think-"

The human didn't say anything as Bilbo continued to babble on, he was only looking around the cage and then the gaze snapped back at Bilbo, noticing the still full plate at the creatues side.

"Are you not eatin' that?" He questioned and Bilbo paused in his rambling and looked himself at the plate at his side, before he shook his head quickly not even considering it.

"It's just that..." Bilbo began and he could see Thorin approach behind the man, blade held at his side.

"Just what?!" The man barked and Bilbo shrank into the corner. "You better start eatin or I'll come in there and make you!"

"I'm not hungry." Bilbo stated with a scowl and the human grumbled to himself before pulling a ring of keys from his belt and placing them into the lock that kept the gated door sealed.

"You'll be hungry after I'm done with you, you little welt-" The man grumbled to himself and as the lock fell to the floor he gasped, Bilbo looked up to see the man go shockingly pale and stiff, Thorin's appeared from behind him as he pulled out a curved hunting blade, now covered in crimson blood, from the large man's back. The heavy man falling with a final thud into the mud beside the cage.

Thorin threw the bloodied blade to the floor before ripping open the cage door, Bilbo still unsure if he should go with the dwarf until the fierceness in his eyes faded away and the kindness inside Thorin returned.

"Come on Bilbo," He whispered as he extended his hand to him and the deer took it but not before crushing the dwarf in a tight embrace. Thorin smiled at the familiar warmthand returned it with a deep sigh, when they finally broke apart Thorin reached up and tucked the deers mess of golden curls behind his curved ear. "Let's get you home."

 

\---- Two Weeks Later---

 

"I can give you a list of all the poachers," Thorin told the two armour covered guards of Dale who had began the enquiry of the missing deer of the shire and pack of known hunters of Laketown. "Every single one of them."

Thorin passed a sheet of paper over to the men and they examined it with raised eyebrows.

"And how do you know all of this?" One of them asked and Thorin smiled honestly at him.

"I was invited to join the party, but declined the offer, too much work here in Dale, you see." Thorin replied, the guards nodded their heads, believing the lie as they had no other indication that Thorin would be untruthful. "I also found the creature wandering the woods a few moons ago, he said he had escaped his cage and his captors."

"Really?" The other guard questioned, his eyes wide. "What did you do to the deer?"

"As any good, upstanding being would do. I returned him home."

The guards nodded slightly before thanking Thorin for his time and leaving without another word. The dwarf grinned to himself before returning to his forging.

\----

Thorin returned home from his work tired and sweaty, but his mood changed as he entered his home to find Bilbo busy bustling away in the kitchen, getting all the pots and pans delivered explicitly from Bag End organized into the tiny room.

"Thorin, what do you think?" Bilbo asked as he pointed to three samples of leaded paint on the kitchen table. "Do you like the Duck Egg, Blue Ash, or, The Blue Grass?"

The dwarf looked over the selection with a small smile on his lips and a singly raised brow, the deer stood at his side and looking expectantly at him.

"They all look the same." Thorin stated and Bilbo sighed in exasperation.

"No, they don't. Duck Egg clearly has less grey." Bilbo mumbled with a long suffering sigh as he snatched up the cans of paint to put them away for another day, but he was stopped with surprise when Thorin grabbed him around the waist.

"I love you, Bilbo." He whispered into the deers shoulder and Bilbo giggled slightly, running his fingertips through the dwarfs thick raven locks.

"I love you too, Thorin."

"Do you want to throw the blade this time?" Thorin asked as he broke the embrace a few moments later and pulled open a nearby draw, pulling out a thin throwing knife as he did. Bilbo nodded vigorously before taking the blade between his fingers and flipping it at a map that Thorin had placed over the dining table, even though it had many holes in it now. "Where are we going next?"

Bilbo moved closer and pulled the knife from out of the map and wall, looking where the tear was on the map and smiling brightly.

"Rivendell."

Thorin groaned as he heard the name of the elf town and Bilbo giggled excitedly as he placed the blade onto the dining table and rubbing his forehead against Thorin's, the dwarf returning it a moment later when he was about to start sulking.

  
In all honesty, what Thorin had told the guards about taking the deer home wasn't a complete lie because for Bilbo, wherever Thorin was Bilbo would be because for them it didn't matter where they were, when they were together they were always home.

**Author's Note:**

> (Comments and Kudos are loved!)  
> ((Remember to check out Non6ix work on tumblr because all their work is just wonderful!))


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